The Power and Strength in Beowulf Essay Example
Although one human’s strength can outweigh another’s, it can never suppress the power of a supernatural force. In Charles W. Kennedy’s translation of Beowulf, the power and strength of Beowulf allow him to take down monsters, but he must find creative ways to do so, as he is only human. When Beowulf faces the dragon, his sword blade melts when coming in contact with the dragon’s blood leading to his death, but when he slays the Troll-Wife, he uses a sword crafted by giants which inherit their supernatural power. While Beowulf is an antiquated poem that involves a series of mythical creatures, these ideas are not limited to the Anglo-Saxons. In “A Hero” by Katharine Tynan and Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” the modern poets similarly demonstrate how a hero is just a normal person that decides to take on a journey of extreme courage, facing a fate of inevitable death. In conjunction with Beowulf, these poems suggest human limitations can be temporarily overcome by bravery, determination, and unexplainable forces.
Beowulf approaches his heroic journey with a desire for fame, power, and glory. His first challenge is to travel to the land of the Danes to defeat Grendel, a monster who has terrorized them for numerous years. Grendel is described as “a demon grim haunting the fen-lands,” that “[bears] the curse of the seed of Cain” (Kennedy 11:61, 65). This ominous diction refers to Grendel as a demon that haunts the land, which highlights how evil he is and the distress he causes the Danes. The allusion to the story of Genesis helps connect the disturbing behavior of Grendel to that of Cain’s since Grendel is said to be a creature of Cain’s type. Although Beowulf faces a supernatural force as just a mere human, he proves to be capable of defeating Grendel. His victory over Grendel allowed for him to gain fame, although it took “[hacking] his way to glory bright” (Tynan 11). The diction unveils how Beowulf is aware that a weapon could do no harm to Grendel, so he uses his hands as an alternative, relating back to hacking his way to victory. The use of diction and allusion throughout the poems further conveys how Beowulf’s human strength reaches its limits against a supernatural force, while his bravery and determination gain him fame.
As Beowulf comes out victorious in his battle against Grendel, the Troll-Wife emerges to avenge her son by taking on Beowulf. Choosing to take down the man that slew her son, the Troll-Wife is described as a “rabid and raging,” “ monstrous hag” (Kennedy 28:817, 814). The intense diction used helps portray the Troll-Wife as the monster she is and the strong emotions she feels after the death of her beloved son. In “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” the poet writes “Rage, rage against the dying of light,” to symbolize how people should fight back against death (Thomas 3). Through this symbol, the anger and rage the Troll-Wife feels due to her son’s murder is shown. The words “dying of light” refer to the darkness of death and the idea that one should fight fiercely as their lives are enclosed by darkness and they face death (Thomas 3). The symbolism and diction incorporated in these poems reveal how one should fight until the end, even though they will be overwhelmed and defeated eventually since death is an inevitable part of life.
The encounter with the dragon is Beowulf’s most important battle, as it is where he ends his heroic journey. His long-lived rule ends after facing the dragon during the later years of his reign as king. As Beowulf fights the dragon, he is bitten, causing a wound that would continue to “swell and burn; and soon he could feel the baneful venom in his chest” (Kennedy 44:1632-1634). This reveals Beowulf’s hamartia, the dragon’s poison, the power of a supernatural force, defeating Beowulf since he is only human. Although Beowulf is poisoned by the dragon, he still manages to conquer the dragon with the help of Wiglaf, before he dies. The words “though wise men at their end know dark is right because their words had forked no lightning they do not go gentle into that good night,” depict how Beowulf’s wisdom leads him to know that he will die from the poison, but that doesn’t mean he will give up and give into death (Thomas 4-6). Beowulf hands over his kingdom to Wiglaf, giving him instructions on what to do as the king of the Geats. The growth of Beowulf is shown through his journey from being just a thane and “a hero in disguise,” to a hero of the Danes and king of the Geats through his numerous victories (Tynan 18). Throughout all three poems, the inevitable fate of death stands true along with how supernatural strength will always trump human strength.
The connection of these three poems helps convey how death is inevitable and when faced with supernatural strength, human strength is far weaker. The use of formal and illustrative diction, allusion, hamartia, and symbolism in Beowulf helps convey Beowulf’s heroic journey throughout the poem and the obstacles he had to overcome until facing his death. In “A Hero,” Tynan uses descriptive diction to demonstrate how heroes are normal people in disguise. “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” uses repetition to portray the importance of their meaning and how one should always fight back against death until the end. As all three poems join together through the use of similar diction and symbolism, a common theme is shared amongst them stating that supernatural power will overpower human strength leading to the inevitable fate of death.
